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Waste not, want not…

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This past weekend, my husband and I had the pleasure of cooking dinner for some dear friends of ours.  As is my custom, I ended up buying far too much shellfish for the seafood pasta main dish.  Thankfully I was able to use the leftover seafood to make a delicious and easy Cioppino for Monday night’s dinner.  The seafood was originally cooked in white wine, tomatoes, garlic onion and a little lemon juice, so the flavors and the leftover broth easily blended into the soup.

The ingredients were simple–a can of whole, peeled tomatoes, a bottle of clam juice, some leftover white wine from the weekend dinner, red pepper flake, onion, garlic, fennel bulb, thyme, oregano and of course, olive oil.

First I sautéed minced garlic, chopped onion and finely chopped fennel bulb in the olive oil.  To that I added thyme leaves, chopped oregano and about a teaspoon of the red pepper flakes.  After the vegetables softened, I then added the tomatoes, which I had mashed by hand, the claim juice and the wine (about 1 1/2 cups).  I also added three bay leaves to the broth.  Let these ingredients cook in a covered pot for about 45 minutes and season to taste with pepper and a little salt.  I also added some freshly squeezed lemon juice to give it a nice kick of acid.

After I was pleased with the flavor of the broth, I added the seafood.  I had used Manila clams, mussels and squid.  Since my seafood was already cooked, the only thing needed was for it to heat thoroughly in the broth for a few minutes and avoid overcooking.  If you are using uncooked seafood, cook until the shellfish open (about 4-5 minutes).  Discard any that don’t open.

I was so glad that I was able to use that leftover seafood, because seafood is a pricey and precious commodity and I hate wasting food! It was so good with some crusty sourdough bread!

Salad Days

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Farro and Arugula Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette

I am not a big fan of salads and when it’s chilly outside, it’s usually the last thing I want to eat!  As nature would have it, now is the time that the lettuces and greens are in season and so, I’ve had to learn to make peace with winter salads.  I’ve discovered that if you start with a whole grain as a base, then you end up with a salad that’s hearty and very filling.

This salad is made with farro, which I have deemed my favorite grain of 2013 (2012 was all about the quinoa).  Farro has a really great, chewy texture, similar to barley, and I came up with this salad on a day that I really just needed a little more substance than just having a green salad.

The farro takes about a half an hour to cook, and I used a ratio of one part farro to three parts liquid.  I used stock as my cooking liquid to give it extra flavor. When it comes to a boil, lower the heat and cover it.  Once all of the liquid is absorbed, allow it to rest for about ten minutes and it will get a nice, creamy texture.

While the farro was cooking, I prepared all of the vegetables.  I think I used a little of everything I had in the refrigerator for the salad and of course you can use whatever you prefer.

10 small heirloom or grape tomatoes, halved
1 small whole avocado, cubed
1/2 small red onion, diced finely
3 broccoli stalks/florets (steamed lightly and sliced)
1/2 can garbanzo beans, rinsed
5-10 kalamata olives, completely optional
1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley
Juice one half of a meyer lemon over the vegetables and season lightly with salt and pepper.  Next I made a very easy, basic vinaigrette with the remaining half of the lemon.
Vinaigrette:
juice from the remaining half of meyer lemon
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
2 tsp dijon mustard
Agave syrup (to taste)
2 small cloves of pressed garlic
salt and pepper to taste
Whisk all these ingredients together and check for flavor. Then whisk in about 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil.
The rest is assembly!  Just add the cooked farro and about 2 cups of arugula to the vegetables and dress with the vinaigrette. Add a little sea salt and pepper, and you have a perfect dinner salad!

And you may ask yourself…

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“Where does this highway go to?” Look at me, I’m blogging! It has taken me more time than I’d like to admit to write this first post.  When I was a kid, I used to get a stack of notebook paper, staple the pages together, and write a title on the first page.  Then I’d stare at my new “book” not knowing what I was going to say.  I knew that I had something to say, but for some reason, I was always too scared to write something in those pages and I’d end up putting the little book into a drawer until another inspiration or whim caused me to take it back out, tear off the first page and re-title it.

“A Life You Make” is my modern version of that little stack of notebook paper, but hopefully, I won’t be too afraid to write something in it! I really want to use this as a way to both catalogue and share my recipes and learning experiences with my friends.  I didn’t go to culinary school and I’m not a chef.  I’m just a working chick who loves to cook and entertain and eat delicious food!  My goal is to make healthy, memorable, beautiful food and hopefully still be able to fit into my pants at the end of the day.   I believe that life is what you make it and every day is an opportunity to make something yummy!